August 8. 
THE COTTAGE GARDEN Eli. 
307 
(Erythrina crista-galli) ripens seeds against the end 
wall of one of the hothouses, with little or no protection 
in winter. The pleasure-ground is full of the linest 
specimens of hardy trees to bo met with in England, 
some of them being the very originals of the kinds 
introduced to this country. His lordship pointed out 
several such, aud he appears to have a great veneration 
for them. I only recollect a black Hickory (Juglans 
nigcr), above fifty feet high, and with wide-spreading 
arms, which he said was plauted in sixteen hundred and 
something. A Judas treo twenty-five to thirty feet high, 
and with the largest head of the kind, perhaps, in the 
country. A Finns pinaster, sixty to seventy feet, on a 
rough guess, the most curious-grown tree in England ; 
it is as straight as an arrow, and without a bough for 
more than half its length, and all this bole or trunk 
seems to be almost of the same diameter all the way up, 1 
and much thicker than any Fir-tree one is accustomed 
to see in this country. A huge Cork-tree, from forty to 
fifty feet high, with a wide-spreading top, and the bark 
in ridge and furrow all over it. One of the large arms 
of this tree broke off high up near the trunk, but 
instead of taking it away to a Museum, or, perhaps, to 
waste, as some would do, it has been propped up against 
the tree itself, bottom upwards, and the main tops fixed 
in the grass below, where it tells its own tale to the 
letter; the first time I ever saw a massive limb of a tree 
broken off and made the best of. An evergreen Oak, 
with a single stem more than twenty feet high, a very 
large head, and the trunk at the surface of the ground 
seven yards round; this was the only tree which I 
stepped round, and I could look at it for a summer’s 
day without tiring. Other Oaks, with Maples and 
Cedars of Lebanon, are also of great age and sizes, and 
a most healthy, vigorous generation of young trees from 
these patriarchs, which were reared from seed by the | 
present Bisliop of London, are now large-looking trees 
in the park, together with more recent introductions. 
As if on purpose to associate with these large trees of 
the woods and forests, there are several plants of the j 
taliest Scarlet Geraniums in England out on the lawn 
here, in groups of threes together; the tallest of them are 
clear fourteen feet high, supported round poles of equal 
height, and the lowest of them is above ten feet high ; 
the kind is the Shrubland Scarlet. They are wintered 
in a dry vinery; from the ripened appearance of the 
wood of these Geraniums, they look as if they might 
live on comfortably enough for fifty years or more. I 
forgot to ask how old they are now, but they are 
certainly very fine objects in. a large garden like this; 
there is even a greater feat than they, however, in the 
Geranium way, to be seen here ; but how shall I describe 
it? Imagine as many picked men of the Guards as 
could stand close together in single file along two whole 
sides of this large square-built palace, and on the ofi- 
side of a broad terrace-like walk, next the grass, and a 
large party of lords, ladies, and gentlemen, walking up 
and down, and round the corner, between the Guards 
and the doors and windows of the palace, would that 
not be a fine sight; well, for the Guards let us say large 
specimen Geraniums in stone-like vases, and such speci¬ 
mens, too, as Mr. Turner’s Rouena and Perfection Gera¬ 
niums, at the Chiswick Show, only two or three sizes 
larger. If Mr. Hayes had taken a score of these vase 
Geraniums (and he could take them almost without 
being missed for the day) to the Chiswick Show, instead 
of his Pine Apples, he might not have got a greater 
prize for them than lie had for the fruit, but the sight 
would have caused as much garden gossip among 
country folks as the Queen caused among the more 
fortunate of the exhibitors who were in “ attendance.” I 
have seen enough of gardening, one way or another, but 
I never saw such as this or anything like it. Tom Thumbs 
and the Scarlet Queen were the only ones of that section, 
and Tom is preferred before the Queen of Scarlets, which 
l never saw before; the old Scarlet Variegated was the 
next kind, reckoning by numbers, and there were some 
splendid Uniques, and one or two more of fancy perpetual 
bloomers. Not one of these was under a yard in , 
diameter, four feet, by guess, being the general run, and 
a few even wider than that, and all in full bloom and 
perfect shapes; but what surprised me more than the 1 
rest, was the small sizes of the vases themselves; the ! 
smallest size could not hold more earth than a number 
1C) pot, so that a good deal depends on hand feeding. If 
the twelve Scarlet Geraniums which Mr. Edwards ex¬ 
hibited at the Regent’s Park Show, last July, are well 
housed next winter, and get a little encouragement from 
next February to May, and be very gradually exposed 
to the open air, they would soon make specimens for \ 
standing out in different parts of the garden for years j 
and years to come. 
Now, it is only a question of time, and of head-room 
in a greenhouse, or vinery, whether one grows Tom 
'Thumb into a three-feet-in-diameter specimen, as a j 
dwarf “squat” plant for a vase or rustic basket, or a i 
Shrubland Scarlet, alias Smith’s Superb, up to ten or ! 
twelve feet high, to be planted out on the grass, as at 
Fulham Palace; or Unique, and many other of the per- 
I petual flowering class, as Pillar Roses, and as high as 
seven to ten feet, such as they train them at the Regent’s 
Park Garden, either for the conservatory, or for placing 
I out on the grass ; that is, a tliree-feet-across 'Tom Thumb 
I does not occupy more space in a house than a ten feet- 
high plant of any other kind. A dozen specimen Gera- 
! niums, trained for exhibition, in the style of Mr. Tur¬ 
ner’s, or Mr. Gains’, plants, woidd not require more 
house-room if they were as many feet in height as they 
are inches across. Then my firm advice would be for 
all who have a flower-garden to furnish, that if there is 
only room for keeping ten large Geraniums over the 
winter, let four or six of them be trained up into pillai-s 
'for the flower-garden, to be planted out in groups here 
and there on the grass, or as single plants. Either way 
they look extremely well, besides stamping a distinct 1 
character on the whole place. All kinds of Geraniums | 
for vases, large pots, or rustic baskets, are better trained j 
out as wide across as one can get them, and to be as 
low as the nature of the kind will allow of; or, if you 
simply require to plant flower-beds only, let two-thirds , 
of the crop be of old plants. My experience on these 
points was more than confirmed on visiting Fulham 
Palace. D. Beaton. 
ODDS AND ENDS. 
CHEIRANTHUS MARSHALLII. 
“ How 7 , when, and where am I to propagate this ?” This 
has frequently been mentioned lately. It is certainly a 
very beautiful thing, and, I presume, as hardy as the 
Cheiranthus alpinus, from which it differs in its more 
compact bushy habit, and in having orange instead of 
1 yellow flowers. I have a number of young plants, in a 
raised border, among others of a kindred nature, such 
as Saxifrages, Sedums, &c., that were propagated late 
last season in a cold pit, and kept there all the winter. 
I intend to get some dozens of cuttings from them in a 
few days, and will either insert them in pots to be 
placed in a cold pit, or place them at once under a 
hand-light. If placed in pots, no assistance will be 
given to them, except keeping them rather close. If 
placed under a haudlight, they will, most likely, go in 
company with other things, for which a slight hotbed 
has been prepared; such as Pinks, Carnations, &c. As 
other queries lead us to infer that our correspondent 
has not had much experience, I will shortly describe how 
